Board of Architectural Review
Summary
The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) is a standing municipal body that reviews architectural and landscaping matters, including major certificates of appropriateness for projects in the Old Town area. The Planning Commission appoints one of its members as its representative to the BAR. Kevin Denton was elected as that representative on January 13, 2025 (7:0). On October 27, 2025, Chair Feather was appointed as the interim representative through December 31, 2025 (4:0), and was then reappointed on January 12, 2026 (5:0), making her the current Planning Commission representative. The BAR experienced a period of cancelled meetings in early 2026 (late January through at least mid-February), with Chair Feather reporting nothing to relay from the body during that time. More recently, the BAR has been actively engaged in work sessions on at least two significant development proposals — one on June 3, 2026 (where it gave feedback on architecture, landscaping, sidewalk width, color scheme, and building articulation) and one on June 17, 2026 (where it held robust discussion on a Chambers Road façade and pedestrian scale). The BAR is also named as a required participant in upcoming public hearings on pending rezoning and development applications.
Open questions & options on the table
- Public hearings with the Planning Commission, City Council, and the Board of Architectural Review are still pending for at least one active development application (the CR-to-PDR rezoning/master development plan proposal), following plan resubmission, staff review, and a City Council work session scheduled for July 28, 2026.
- The BAR's feedback from the June 17, 2026 work session (on the Chambers Road façade, pedestrian scale, and vehicular entrance resolution) has not yet resulted in a resubmission or public hearing — those next steps remain pending.
- It is not recorded whether the BAR has elected its 2026 chair and vice chair, though as of January 12, 2026, the first BAR meeting of the calendar year had been cancelled and that election was expected at their next meeting.
Recent updates
[5b] Chair Feather was appointed as the Planning Commission's representative to the Board of Architectural Review.
[5a] The Planning Commission appointed Chair Feather as its representative to the Board of Architectural Review for the remainder of 2025.
What members have said
On January 12, 2026, Chair Feather reported that the BAR's first meeting of the calendar year had been cancelled and that she expected them to meet the following week to elect their own chair and vice chair, with nothing to report from the BAR. On February 9, 2026, she again reported that the BAR had not been meeting — with the last meeting or two cancelled and the next one also being cancelled — and noted self-deprecatingly that it was 'the greatest appointment' for her to serve in that capacity given there was nothing to report. On June 8, 2026, she noted she would get 'another shot' at a pending application as the Planning Commission rep on the BAR, commented favorably on a project's incorporation of red brick, referenced the BAR's past discussions on mixing ancient and modern design, and declined to presume what the BAR would think while expressing personal favorable impressions.
On January 12, 2026, Cunningham offered congratulations on the re-election of the commission's two leaders and Happy New Year wishes, with no recorded comment on BAR matters specifically.
Positions as recorded in meeting minutes; votes without recorded comment aren’t summarized.
Full history
- Jan 13, 2025Planning Commission · item 5b
[5b] Kevin Denton was appointed as the planning commission representative to the Board of Architectural Review.
- Oct 27, 2025Planning Commission · item 5a
[5a] The Planning Commission appointed Chair Feather as its representative to the Board of Architectural Review for the remainder of 2025.
- Jan 12, 2026Planning Commission · item 5b
[5b] Chair Feather was appointed as the Planning Commission's representative to the Board of Architectural Review.